1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to prosthetic implants and more particularly to flexible prosthetic implants for repair or replacement of hard tissue or bone which can be readily shaped to accommodate the body structure of the particular patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prosthetic implants are commonly used by physicians and other health care practitioners to replace, repair or augment hard tissue or bone in the body of a patient. These implants are utilized when a body part is mutilated or damaged through trauma or disease and as replacements or augmenters in cosmetic or plastic surgery.
Various materials are known in the art which can be used for making . prosthetic implants. Examples of such materials are chromium-cobalt-molybdenum alloys, stainless steel, titanium alloys, ceramics and various polymers and polymer/ceramic composites. Any materials used for prosthetics must be biologically compatible, i.e., they must not adversely affect living tissue and the environment created by living tissue must not adversely affect the prosthetic.
In many cases, prosthetic implants must replace or augment body parts such as bone which are rigid. Consequently, the implants need to be composed of a rigid material. Additionally, the implants need to approximate the size and shape of the body part being replaced or augmented. Because every patient is unique, a problem which often confronts practitioners is fashioning the implant to the requisite shape and proper fit, especially in the instances where rigid implants are required.
In some prior art methods, an implant is formed by making a mold of the body part of the individual patient and then deriving a custom prosthetic implant from the mold. The problem associated with this method is that it is time consuming due to the additional step required of making the mold. This also translates into higher costs for the patient. In other prior art methods, a prosthetic implant is formed to the approximate size and shape of the body part and is subsequently carved or sculpted to the exact dimensions of the particular patient. The problem associated with achieving the precise size and shape is compounded when the prosthetic implant is composed of rigid material because once the implant is formed it is time consuming and difficult to make adjustments to its size and shape. Any mistakes made in adjusting the configuration are difficult to correct and may require the fabrication of an entirely new implant.
Standardized preformed rigid implants have also been utilized. However, these standardized implants cannot account for differences in the bone or tissue structure among patients and therefore they also have to be individually carved to the necessary shape.
Additionally, in some surgical situations, the implants may be required to be inserted to the implant site via a tortuous or curved pathway. Rigid implants may fracture when being inserted along such pathway.
Therefore, the need exists for a prosthetic implant, formed of a rigid material, which can accommodate the needs of individual patients without requiring each implant to be separately molded or individually sculpted to the required configuration. Such implants would avoid the time consuming and expensive surgical procedures of the prior art.